International forum World Culture as Sustainable Development Resource has been opened in the Zurab Tsereteli Art Gallery, Moscow.

      The forum timed to the 70th anniversary of the UNESCO was attended by the Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky and the Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets.

      According to the officials, the UNESCO activity is of special importance, since this organization helps to preserve cultural values of various peoples; after all culture is not divided into nationalities. International cultural ties are the basis for fruitful dialogue of the states and development of partnership among the countries.

      Mr. Medinsky pointed out that UNESCO plays a special role in development of the horizontal international cultural relations. He also emphasized the significance of including the Russian-Bulgarian archaeological and historical complex in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014 and told about the Russian sites, which are nominated for the list.

      “Culture is something bigger in human life than monuments and stones. Development in any sphere cannot be steady without culture. Though modern society is more interconnected, it is more vulnerable at the same time” - the UNESCO CEO Irina Bokova mentioned in her welcome speech.